Ellen Pompeo describes 'toxic' environment on 'Grey's Anatomy' - Page Six

Ellen Pompeo says the culture behind the scenes on “Grey’s Anatomy,” which is in its 14th year on the air, was “toxic” for the first decade of the ABC series.

“The first 10 years we had serious culture issues, very bad behavior, really toxic work environment,” the 49-year-old actress explained in a new Variety interview.

When asked if there was ever a moment she wanted to leave the show she said, “There were many moments. It’s funny: I never wanted off the bus in the year that I could get off.”

Pompeo, who has three children, said that once she became a mother she realized she needed to provide for her family.

“It became no longer about me,” she said. “At 40 years old, where am I ever going to get this kind of money? I need to take care of my kids.”

A fair share of the show’s drama was reported in the press over the years, including Isaiah Washington’s abrupt exit in 2007 after using a homophobic slur while fighting with Patrick Dempsey on set and Katherine Heigl withdrawing herself from the 2008 Emmy race because she didn’t feel like her storyline “warranted an Emmy nomination.” When T.R. Knight left in 2009, he told Entertainment Weekly, he and creator Shonda Rhimes had a “gradual breakdown of communication” (via CNN). Heigl exited in 2010 and by 2014, Rhimes told The Hollywood Reporter she has a “no Heigls” on the set of her other show, “Scandal.”

“It became my goal to have an experience there that I could be happy and proud about, because we had so much turmoil for 10 years,” Pompeo said. “My mission became, this can’t be fantastic to the public and a disaster behind the scenes. Shonda Rhimes and I decided to rewrite the ending of this story. That’s what’s kept me.”

She added that another one of her missions was to prove to ABC the cast didn’t need a male lead after Dempsey left.

“I was on a double mission,” she explained.

Pompeo has been open about the fact Dempsey always made more money than she did, despite being the show’s titular character. After years of fighting for higher pay, she negotiated a $10 million per year deal with the network.

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